Submarine signaling apparatus



y 20, 4 R. E. PETERSON SUBMARINE SIGNALING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 23, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. ROBERT E.PETER$ON FIGJ May 20, 1947.

R. E. PETERSON SUBMARINE SIGNALING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-sheaf 2 Original Filed Jan. 23, 1943 FIG.2

FIG. 3

uvvmron ROBERT E. PETERSON May 20,1947. R. E. PETERSON 2,420,676

SUBMARINE SIGNALING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 23, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 79 75 76 a d Q FIG. 6 INVENTOR.

' ROBERT E. PETERSON May 1947.

R. E. PETERSON 76 SUBMARINE SIGNALING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 25, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 e3 59 5e r 66 a L 94 62 9 [I U I I'll e5 93 9e iii 'uvmvron ROBERT E. PETERSON gatente'd May 20, 1947 SUBMABINE SIGNALING APPARATUS BobertEJctersomDan meme assignments, hwmiflne alm r. by Signal Company, Boston, Mona, a corporation of Delaware Original application January 23, 1943, Serial No.

Divided and this application December 13, 194:, ScrlaiNo. 514.149

4 Glaims. (01. 114-23) 1 The present application is a division of application Serial No. 473,415, flied January 23,1943. The present invention relates to the art of submarine signaling using compressional wave directive receivingand transmission units and more particularly relates to the detection of the direction of a source of compressional waves articularly at audible and superaudible frequencies and to their application in the control of directing the course of bodies incorporating such directive receiving units. 7

In the art of receiving compressional wave energy for the purpose of determining the direction of a compressional wave source a number of different systems have generally been employed. These include multispot systems having compensating elements, systems which are inherently made directive on principles relating to wave motion and systems employing condensing means for the purpose of condensing the compressional waves. a

The present invention is more particularly related to the last system and uses a condensing lens carried by a rotatable housing in which the transducing elements are positioned. The device as a. whole may be used for detecting the direction of a sound source and may be rotated about a vertical axis andalso oscillated with respect to the horizontal axis in detecting and following the source' of sound from an unknown vessel as, for instance, a hostile submarine.

The objects and features of the present invention reside in the combination and arrangement of elements and parts and in their specific applications as will be more fully set forth and explained in connection with the rest of the specifloation below when read in connection with the drawings illustrating an embodiment of the invention in which Fig. 1 shows a central elevation of the invention as applied to a detector of compressional waves for determining their direction; Fig. 2 shows a partial section taken at right angles to the section of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a plan sectional view of the same device; Fig. 4 shows the directive pickup unit of Fig. 1 as applied to the control of a moving torpedo or other moving object; Fig. 5 shows a schematic wiring diagram of the elements of Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a, b, c, and d illustrate different positions of the sound control beam on the pickup unit; and Fig. '7 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the electrical control and operating system for producing the desired direction of motion of the movin object.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the device indicated may project through a supporting wall i which may be the skin of a vessci or a rail flange, in which case the device may be lowered over the side of a vessel. If thedevice is permanently installed, it may be supported by a flange 2 which is welded as indicated at 3 to the wall I. The flange 2, as indicated in Fig. 1, supports a' sleeve 4 at right angles to it, which encases the hollow shaft 5, carrying at its lower end the rotatable pickup unit 8 which will be described later.

The hollow shaft 5 may be rotated about a vertical axis and for this purpose is supported by a thrust bearing through the ball-bearing support I. The shaft 5 may be rotated by a motor gear drive not shown in the drawing, and its position may be indicated by a bearing scale '8 mounted at the top of the shaft. A proper stuffing box 9 may be provided between the sleeve 4 and the shaft 5 since the device may project into the water in such a way that the flange 2 may be below the water level.

The shaft 5, as indicated more clearly in Fig. 2, is provided at its lower end with two forked supports l0 and H projecting outwards into an are having journaled near its ends two supporting shafts l2 and I3 supporting the pickup unit 6. The pickup unit 6 is provided with a housing or shell M at the back of which is mounted a sector gear 15 fixed to the housing It. This sector gear l5 meshes with a worm gear i6 Journaled in a sleeve Il supported by the shaft 5. The shaft I8 carrying the worm gear i6 is connected at its other end to a link IS. The link i9 is connected to the shaft 20 located in the axis of the hollow cylindrical shaft 5. The joint of the link I9 is a pivoted joint permitting sufficient freedom of motion so that the link l9 may turn and also'the shaft i8 when the shaft 20 is rotated. The shaft 20 is centrally supported by the ball bearings 2i mounted in the supporting holder 22 fixed within the shaft 5.. A second ball-bearing support 23 may be provided at the upper end of the shaft 20 and since water may enter the space within the cylinder 5, the end of the cylinder 5 is sealed ofi around the shaft 20 by means of a proper watertight gland 24. The shaft 20 may be turned from its upper end through the gears 25 and 26, the indicator 21 indicating the angle of dip which the pickup unit has with the horizontal plane. The pickup unit itself is mounted within the casing H which should be of such a curvature as not to interfere with the collecting of the sound rays by the transducer elements 30. This casing may be spherical in shape at the front close to the outer spherical shell 48 forming an enclosin chamber iwith the back part 41 of the spherical shell. This shell 61, 48 may be filled with water or other suitable medium. For this purpose the casing may be parabolic in shape and may be lined on the outside with a cork acoustic-reflecting layer 3!. The transducer elements 30 which may be, and preferably are, Rochelle-salt crystal elements are mounted on a supporting block 32 filling out the end of the housing I. This block 32 may be made of metal and may be shielded around its side by acoustic insulating means as indicated by the covering element 33. The crystals 30 may be set solidly within grooves 34 of the block in which they are cemented in place. The crystals preferably are of the type such that a compressional wave acting on the end surfaces will produce electrical potential across the opposed electrodes 35. The crystals 36, as indicated in Fig. 2, while spaced from each other, cover in a mosaic-like pattern the greater part of the surface of the block 32.

In 'Fig. 2 the crystals are shown arranged in substantially a square but they may also fill out to a greater extent the entire circularly bound surfaces of the block 32. The space within the casing I4 between the sound lens 36 and the transducing elements 30 may be filled with an acoustic conductingliquid 31, some suitable oil, for instance, having different acoustic characteristics than the sound lens. The sound lens 36 is bounded by two convex surfaces 38 and 39. The liquid 40, which may be ether or some other suitable liquid, within the lens has such acoustic properties that its velocity is less than that in the surrounding medium to the extent that sound passing through it will be converged towards the focal plane in which the transducing units effectively act. With a substantially arcuate curve surface the transducing elements 30 will lie in curved planes somewhat as shown in the drawing, depending upon the liquid in the lens, the shape and other factors. By proper adjustment of the curvature of the surfaces 38 and 39 of the lens shells and the effective curved surface of the transducing elements it is possible to make all the transducing units of the element 36 act in the same phase and with substantially the same amplitudes.

To the rear of the casing 41,.48 holding the sound lens casing and the operating mechanism therefor, there is provided a shell 49 which tapers from the hemispherical shell 41, 48 substantially in a conical form to form a streamlined body to reduce water turbulence when the vessel is in motion. This body may be filled with a sound insulating medium 45 so that no sound from the rear approaches the lens casing.

The advantage of such an arrangement is that with a comparatively small sound lens of twelve inches or less in diameter it is possible to determine the direction of the sound source not only with very high accuracy, but it is also possible to provide a receiving unit of very great sensitivity and one which is free from foreign disturbances in the vicinity of the pickup unit. The device is particularly useful for listening to the acoustic components.

In the operation of the device in a sound-propagating medium as, for instance, sea water, the sound unit within the fixed casing may be rotated about a vertical axis by turning the shaft 5. The directive qualities of the sound unit are such that the direction of the sound wave may be determined with great accuracy. At the same time that the unit may be rotated about a vertical axis, it may also be tilted up or down about a horizontal axis, thus enabling it to pick up sounds coming from a submarine beneath the water surface. The energy picked up by the pickup elements 30 is conducted over the cable 4| to the amplifier 42 the output of which may be connected to a pair of head phones' 43 or some other audible or visible indicator indicating the sounds picked up by the pickup unit.

In the arrangement indicated in Figs. 4, 5 6, and '1 the pickup unit and lens 50 is mounted in the head Of a torpedo in such a manner that the torpedo may be guided in accordance with the sound which it receives. In this device the Rochelle-salt crystal receivers 52 are mounted, on a plate 5| whose surface is curved to conform to the shape of the wave front normally impinging upon it, that is, when the sound is approaching in the direction of the axis of the lens. A great many of the Rochelle salt crystal units may be used, and these, as indicated in Fig. 1, may be mounted with their compressional axes parallel to the axis of the lens on the comparatively rigid surface of the element 5|. In this case the electrodes are positioned on the sides of the crystals perpendicular to the short dimension or axis of the crystal. The pickup unit 50, with the crystals '52 mounted in it, is divided into four sections as indicated in Fig. 5, section 53 being connected to the line 54, section '55 being connected to the line '56, section 51 bein connected to the line 58 and section 59 being connected to the line 60. Each of these sections controls rudder elements to produce the desired course correction. The two upper sections =53 and 55 as compared to the two lower sections 51 and 59 control respectively the up and down motion of the torpedo while the right and left sections 55 and 51, on the one hand, and 53 and 59, on the other hand, control the left and right directions of the torpedo. For this purpose each section is fed to an amplifier 6|, 62, 63, 64 and the outputs of the amplifiers go to a discriminator which furnish the control for operating at the proper instances the up-down mechanism 66 and the right-left mechanism 61. As indicated somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 4, the discriminator 65 controls the operations of the motors 6'6 and '61, the motor 66 producing the right and left control by directing the rudder fins 6B and '69 pivoted to the shaft 10 and driven by the motor 66 through the shaft 1| and the gears 12. The motor 61 may drive the shaft 13 and in a similar fashion control the horizontal rudders 14 for the up-down motion of the vessel.

In Fig. 6 there is an indication of the manner in which the sound image may actupon the pickup area. Looking at the diagram (1 first, it will be noted that the pickup area is indicated by the circle 15 and that the sound image is indicated by the ring 16. If this image 16 drops towards the lower right as indicated by the image 11 in Fig. 0, then it may be assumed that the sound is now coming from the upper left and correction therefore will be made to elevate the vessel and direct it towards the upper left to bring the image back to the center as indicated in Fig. 11. In Fig. b the image 1-8 is received in the upper. right indicating that the direction of the torpedo will be changed to the lower left and similarly in Fig. a with the image 19 in the upper left the change will be to the lower right.

The operating mechanism for the system shown of the four pickup sectors 53, 55, 51 and 59 is connected through their respective amplifiers 6i, lit,

lit and 62 to the two solenoid switches 84 and at, the amplifier 6! through the coils 86 and ill connected in series, the amplifier 64 through the coils 88 and 89 connected in series, the amplifier 53 through the coils '90 and 9| connected in series and the amplifier 62 through the coils 92 and. tit connected in series. When the amplifier ti operates, the image will be in the upper left sector indicating that the sound is coming from the lower right sector so that the coil 88 operates to make the vessel go down and the coil 81 operates to make the vessel go to the right. It should be noted that the motor 56 corresponding to the same numbered element in Fig. 4 drives through afiworm gear M the right and left rudders '95 and 9 as the amplifier M for the up-and-down rudder and therefore the coil 88 is connected to aid the coil 86, while the coil 85 is connected in oppos ing relation to the coil 81. The amplifier G3 is connected in aiding relation with an amplifier M as far as the right-and-left rudders is concerned and therefore the coil ti and the coil 82 work together onthe right and left switch whereas these two amplifiers work in opposition on the The amplifier fit acts in the same direction up-and-down switch as indicated by theposition oi the coils t8 and til on the up-and-down switch.

and in opposition to it on the up-and-down rudder.

When the image it as indicated in Fig. 6, is in a central position, the amplifiers will be equally excited and the rudders will hold a neutral course. However, if the image should shift over the face of the pickup element, then the mechanism will operate to bring the image back to its central position. In this setup the torpedo or vessel will drive in the direction of the sound source and ii the torpedo acoustic element 5b is set to pick up and receive sounds from any enemy vessel, it will tend to follow the direction from which these sounds came to the source.

1 By making the head directional, that is so the it will not receive sounds except those approaching from a given direction, the torpedo when once on its general course in the direction of the source oi the enemys vessel, will not be diverted from it unless another vessel comes within the same 'sound focus and is more powerful in sound emission than the original attracting vessel. The switching arrangement indicated in Fig. 7 is somewhat diagrammatical inasmuch as any type of control switch may be used in which the magnet. The Polaroid magnetic switch may be 78 used in which right and left rudders are balanced against each other and the same type of switch may also be used for balancing the up-and-down rudder coils. Instead of using Rochelle-salt crystal elements as receiving units, a plurality of magnetos trictive elements 'may also be used, each acting as a pickup unit for the sound Waves and the sectors acting together similarly as described in connection with Fig. 5 of the application.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with a vessel adapted to move through a sound propagating medium, a

sound pickup device positioned in one portion thereof having a sound lens adapted to directively receive sound in the propagating medium, means for controlling the direction of (the course of said vessel including a group of sound pickup unitsextending over the focal surface of said lens. said pickup units being connected together in groups, each extending over a quarter of the focal surface of said lens and means operative by said groups for controlling the course of the vessel,

2. A torpedo operated by the directivity of sound waves comprising a sound pickup unit mounted in said torpedo having a sound lens and a sound pickup unit mounted in the focal surface of said lens, means forguiding and controlling the course of said torpedo and means operative through the position of the sound image on the focal surface of said lens for guiding said torpedo in the desired course.

3. A torpedo operated by the directivity of sound waves comprising a sound pickup unit mounted in-said torpedo having a sound lens and a sound pickup unit mounted in the focal surface of said lens, means for guiding and controlling the course of said torpedo and means operative'through the position of the sound image on the focal surface of said lens for gulding'said torpedo in the desired course, said last-named means including mechanism differentiating up and down direction and right and left direction in accordance with the position of sound image on the sound focal surface. 5

4. In combination with a vessel, means mounted therein for controlling the course ofthe vessel comprising a sound pickup unit having a receivil'lg area, means selectively directing a sound aarnanlscss err The following references are of record in the YPETE-RSON.

Great Britain Mar. Q, 1928 

